Girl saved from forced marriage by Apple's Find My iPhone app

The girl's secret boyfriend at home in the UK helped British authorities track her down in Bangladesh
The girl's secret boyfriend at home in the UK helped British authorities track her down in Bangladesh Credit: Geoff Pugh

A teenage girl used Apple's Find My iPhone app to help her secret boyfriend rescue her from a forced marriage thousands of miles away in Bangladesh.

A court heard her parents tricked her into going on a sham holiday from their home in Leeds, West Yorks, as part of a plot to force her to marry her cousin.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said they physically pressured her into going through with plans for the wedding in July 2016, and said she was expected to have a child with her cousin so he could obtain a British visa.

Details of her rescue by British authorities emerged at Leeds Crown Court. They were able locate her after she secretly contacted her boyfriend of eight months in the UK before the wedding took place.

The girl, now 19, used the Find My iPhone app and Instagram locations to secretly alert her boyfriend back in the UK, who she hadn't told her family about.

The case was heard at Leeds Crown Court
The case was heard at Leeds Crown Court Credit: Andrew McCaren/LNP

It enabled him to share her whereabouts, and he immediately told police - telling her: "You will be OK princess, you will be home safe and in my arms and I am never going to let you go again."

He had become increasingly concerned that the victim was in serious danger after receiving worrying Whatsapp messages.

After being made aware of the escalating situation, the British High Commission in Bangladesh, the Forced Marriage Unit, and Bangladeshi police worked together to rescue the victim and bring her safely back to the UK.

She saw her opportunity when her mother decided to visit neighbours to talk about the wedding and her father went out with other men to buy the groom's outfit.

The victim was in constant contact with the consular team who were travelling under police escort to find her.

The court heard details about her father threatening to slit her throat and "chop her up" if she refused to comply with their demands.

He made it clear he would rather kill her and go to prison than allow this perceived lack of respect. Her parents were arrested days later when they flew back to Heathrow airport and her siblings were taken into care.

The woman told a court that she wanted her dad to be "punished" for deliberating misleading her and "forcefully" trying to make sure the wedding went ahead.

The parents, who cannot be named to maintain the victim's legal entitlement to lifetime anonymity, were convicted at Leeds Crown Court on Tuesday following a trial.

They were found guilty by a jury of of 11 males and one female of offences of forced marriage and using violence or a form of coercion.

Judge Simon Phillips QC warned the pair that a substantial prison sentence would be inevitable. They will both be sentenced at Leeds Crown Court on Monday, June 18.

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